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Adamantine Knights
The Adamantine Knights are a Loyalist Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes descended from the honoured Dark Angels and their Primarch Lion El'Johnson through the Angels of Absolution. They were founded during the 23rd "Sentinel" Founding, to replace a chapter of the Astartes Praeses that had been destroyed by the Forces of Chaos. They made their home on the feudal world of Lazaron, a planet culturally and geographically identical to the Dark Angels' long lost home world of Caliban. Chapter History Early Years When they were founded the Adamantine Knights received all the necessary equipment and gene-seed along with a cadre of veteran officers from their primogenitors to guide the nascent chapter through its infancy. For a time they remained too small to patrol beyond their home system for Chaos Raiders but as they grew in number so too did they grow more aggressive in their deployments. Their crucible of battle would be during the 10th Black Crusade, fighting alongside the Imperial Guardsmen and Planetary Defence Forces of Thracian Primaris, against Abaddon the Despoiler's Black Legion. Here, the Chapter's 4th Company set the precedent that remains to this day - instead of a static defence they sallied forth from the walls of Hive Vyohr in an armored speartip that cut a deep wound into the Traitor forces, breaking the siege for a time at the cost of their own lives. When asked why they had sacrificed a full one-hundred Battle-Brothers to save a single hive city, the Grand Master at the time, Amriel, answered, "We gave our word to the people of Vyohr to fight, and we kept it." Time of Ending The Adamantine Knights answered the call of Supreme Grand Master Azrael of the Dark Angels and dispatched elements of their 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 8th Companies to join the crusade to the Fenris System. This contingent fought beside the Great Companies of Logan Grimnar and Egil Ironwolf on Midgardia against the foul Plague Marines of Nurgle, however unbeknownst to their Space Wolves allies, they had an ulterior motive for deploying to Midgardia specifically. One of the Champions of the Plague God leading the enemy was a member of the Fallen, Adonael, who was subjected to an overwhelming armored assault lead by Grand Master Seraphiel and the Steelwing, the Adamantine Knights' elite 1st Company. But while the bulk of the chapter was elsewhere a storm brewed near Lazaron, the forces of the Ruinous Powers grew in boldness, with incursions increasing in size and frequency. This was the prelude to what would become the 13th Black Crusade, and when it came the Adamantine Knights would be woefully unprepared due to the bulk of their chapter being deployed across Segmentum Obscurus. So it was that they were unable to send aid to the Cadian Gate when it fell under attack by Abaddon and the Black Legion, for Lazaron itself was besieged by the Daemonic Legions of Khorne. The 7th and 10th Companies manned the walls of Mount Leonis, which opened its gates to any of the world's mortal inhabitants who would join the Battle Brothers in fighting the Chaos forces. In command was High Interrogator-Chaplain Hadriel, who organized the Chapter's forces and their allies into a simple but effective defense. The mortals fired into the crimson tide of daemons while the Knights formed a mobile reserve, shoring up weak points in the line in overwhelming counterattacks. Their relief was the return of the Grand Master's host, descending from the heavens in drop pods to annihilate the Khornate army. At the sight of reinforcements Mount Leonis's beleaguered defenders sallied forth from the gates charging into the heart of the daemonic horde. Age of the Dark Imperium In the Imperium's darkest hour the Avenging Son was awoken from his millennia-long stasis to lead a new campaign against the Dark Gods' servants during the Indomitus Crusade. Having suffered catastrophic losses on Midgardia and Lazaron the Adamantine Knights welcomed the Primaris Marines with far less suspicion than their Unforgiven brethren. Chapter Homeworld Lazaron The Adamantine Knights make their home on and draw the bulk of their recruits from the Feudal World of Lazaron. However Lazaron is not a typical Feudal World, for technologically it is post industrial with factories, electricity, running water, and other commodities readily available for the upper and middle classes but in the structure of its society the it is very feudalistic. Before the coming of the Knights it was ruled by a council of dukes, who have since lost their power of governance to the Astartes as each Captain is nominally a duke of one of the ten duchies. Below them is the traders, craftsmen, and factory owners. At the bottom are the peasantry, who work the factories and make up the PDF forces of the planet. The geography of Lazaron is heavily forested with a few mountains here and there like the one Mount Leonis is located on. These woods are occupied by all manner of dangerous and sometimes monstrous creatures, made such by the proximity of the planet to the dreaded Eye of Terror. Often Aspirants are sent on hunts for these beasts and required to present some trophy to gain entrance to the Knights. The climate is on the colder end of temperate, with the average summer temperature around ten degrees Celsius. Fortress Monastery 'Mount Leonis', or the Lion's Mountain, is the Fortress-Monastery of the Adamantine Knights. It is a gargantuan structure built into the highest peak of Lazaron with a fortified gatehouse at the base of the mountain. Within is a network of tunnels that lead into pre-prepared defensive positions, pitfalls, booby traps, or other nasty surprises for the unwelcome guest. Only on the summit is the proper monastery located, which is a pentagonal structure with each point on the outer edge a massive bastion keep studded with gun turrets. In the center is the main compound which houses the armory, quarters, mess hall, chapel, training yard, mausoleum, and hangar. Throughout the existence of Mount Leonis it has weathered numerous assaults and emerged unbroken, no doubt due to the extensive fortifications present. More than a safe haven for the chapter however Mount Leonis is the seat from which the Knights rule the Lazaron sub sector and deploy strikeforcers across the Segmentum. Chapter Organization Specialist Ranks *'Grand Master' - Chapter Master *'Master' - Company Captain Specialist Formations *'Steelwing' - The Adamantine Knights’ near mythical 1st Company is, like all other Unforgiven, double strength and composed entirely of Battle Brothers in Tactical Dreadnought Armor. *'Ghostwing' - When hunting the hated Fallen requires speed over sheer brute force the Ghostwing is deployed, striking from atop their Attack Bikes, Land Speeders, and Atmospheric Fighters. Order of Battle Inner Circle Companies Recruitment, Initiation, and Funerary Rites Recruitment Each year a great tournament is held on each of the worlds of the Lazaron Sub-Sector, with participants competing for the right to be accepted as an Aspirant into the Knights. The first rounds are physical with events such as wrestling, boxing, running, and weight-lifting. After come the intellectual challenges such as chess, arithmetic, mechanical engineering, and biology. Any contenders that make it to the third tier of the tournament are pitted against each other in tests of skill at arms, with deadly stakes. Dueling with sharp edged blades, three gun courses where the object is to hit the enemy with live ammunition, etc. The survivors are given the privilege of making the journey to Mount Leonis, a trip that passes through the lair of the Lazaronian Dragons, which are as fearsome as the name suggests. Initiation If an Aspirant makes it to Mount Leonis they are subjected to a hellish training regimen to break them down to their core and build them up the standards set by the Chaplains. Exhausting physical exercises, hours of prayer, hypo-indoctrination, academic studies, and weapons training that leaves each and every Aspirant drained of any and all energy. The weak are weeded out by the end of the first month, tossed from the summit of Mount Leonis like so much discarded refuse. Any who remain then enter the next phase, which makes the previous seem like a vacation. After three years the Aspirants begin the geneseed-implanation process, which turns them from mortal men into transhuman angels of death. This is when they are first assigned to the Scout Company, to support the line brothers in combat. When a Scout finally earns the right to done a suit of power armor and join the ranks of the Reserve Companies he is given an Oathblade; a meter long, double-edged, shortsword with a blade forged from ceramite. On the pommel of each Oathblade is inscribed the battle brother's name, the first of many inscriptions. Whenever a battle brother participates in a campaign or defeats a notable foe such a feat is engraved onto the blade and thus it is not uncommon for veterans to need to stretch onto the crossguard after they have filled their blade entirely. While unpowered and without whirring teeth the Oathblade is still a deadly backup weapon, capable of cutting through anything short of power armor with ease in the hands of an Adamantine Knight. Funeral Very few Space Marines ever die of old age, the endless wars in the name of the Imperium take them too early for their transhuman biology to fail them. So it is that when a battle brother dies in combat he is stripped of his armor, ritually cleaned, and laid to rest within the winding catacombs of Mount Leonis with his Oathblade, so that even in death he is ready to fight for the Emperor. Combat Doctrine At some point in their history the Adamantine Knights stumbled across cogitators detailing the Hexagrammaton of the ancient Dark Angels Legion, specifically the Ironwing. They took a particular liking to the tactics of this formation but also noticed that they would require refinement. And so the 1st Company was renamed the Steelwing, for when Iron is smelted with lime and coke it emerges as Steel. Often the Adamantine Knights will deploy massed armored formations that will hopefully shatter the enemy in a series of devastating, cyclic charges. If this is insufficient to secure victory the Knights will dismount to engage the survivors in close combat, to give them the honorable death they have earned through their perseverance. Deathwatch Service Although founded primarily to combat Heretic Astartes and the other servants of the Ruinous Powers the Adamantine Knights do not shirk their duty to provide Battle Brothers to the Deathwatch, honoring the oaths of Apocryphon. Chapter Beliefs The Adamantine Knights believe they are the spiritual successors to the knightly traditions of the second millennium, prizing duty, honor, and loyalty of above all other values. So too do their tactics match, modified for forty-thousand years of technological advancements. They have traded in horses for Rhinos and Razorbacks and relegated the sword to a secondary weapon while their primary is a Bolter or Plasma Gun as could be expected for descendants of the Dark Angels. When it comes to the Fallen the Adamantine Knights take the same stance as their primogenitors, believing they are absolved of the sins of the Fallen by the Emperor but still join their Unforgiven Brethren in contributing to the Fallen's demise. Notable Chapter Members Notable Campaigns Chapter Fleet Chapter Armory and Reliquary Chapter Appearance Chapter Colours The Adamantine Knights paint their armor in white, black, and silver. Chapter Badge The icon of the Adamantine Knights is a pair of white crossed swords facing downwards Relations Allies *'The Unforgiven'' - All scions of the Dark Angels are bound by common blood and oaths publicly, and by the burden of exacting justice on the Fallen privately Enemies *'The Fallen' - Despite their belief in their own innocence the Adamantine Knights will go to any length to capture the Fallen and make them repent for their sins Notable Quotes By the Adamantine Knights About the Adamantine Knights Category:Dark Angels Successors Category:Imperium Category:Space Marine Chapters Category:Space Marines Category:23rd Founding